


Loss

by orphan_account



Category: Generator Rex
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-25
Updated: 2011-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-28 02:51:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/302919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six finds out about One's death. Written as a christmas present to Shinatoa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loss

Scanning over reports from my past missions, my eye is quickly caught by one particular one. Specifically, the page wherein it details the status of the EVO that the mission hinged around. Nearly tearing the page in my haste to retrieve it, I scan over its words until I see my instant fears confirmed: _deceased_. Name unknown. Alias One. Threat level 1. Agents Six and Rex sent to implement CCK protocol. Found to be incurable. Now deceased.

Fully five minutes pass before I realize that I've been standing motionless that entire time, staring at that one word. How could One be dead? Impossible. The report is lying. One fooled them. It's the only way it makes sense.

But wait. It says that I was there too. Makes sense, of course; no way I would let that reckless kid visit One's island alone, and he'd never survive if I did. But for all One's powers of deception, I would have been able to see if he'd used any of his tricks. So either I was lying, or One really is dead. It must be the former. I don't know why, but that's a given; the man I became in the six years I lost is a total stranger to me.

But still there's room for doubt. I can't let that continue. Which means I might have to deal with anyone from Dos through to Five. Just lovely.

Less than thirty seconds later, I'm back in my old uniform again, new swords slung over my shoulder. Grabbing the paper from the table, I stride from the room, shoving aside the faceless Agents in my way. I decide to take the longer route to the hangar to avoid bumping into the Doctor, since she would inevitably have questions for me that I'm ill-equipped to deal with; I had hoped to avoid the kid too, but it seems fortune isn't my friend today.

Before he has time to process my image I've pinned him to the wall, holding him by the throat and watching him squirm. Glowing blue lines briefly radiate up his arms before fading away - seems he still trusts me with his life. Perhaps a mistake. Faster than he can see, I whip out the paper and pin it to the wall with one of many concealed blades, this one a small knife; he tries to twist his head to see it.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?" he turns to look at me as he speaks, looking me directly in the eyes. His own eyes widen momentarily, but barely long enough to notice; he tenses slightly in my grip.

"A small island in the south Pacific. An EVO. The report says he's dead. Is - it - true?" my last four words almost betrayed my panic, but I managed to keep them under control enough that - I hope - they just sounded particularly forceful. Realization flashes in his eyes as he figures out who I mean, and he tenses again.

"S-sort of. I tried to cure him, but he was incurable? But they were going to kill him, your friends were, so I tried again, and then - I don't really know what happened next, but when I came to, he was sort of _melting_."

" _Melting_?"

"Yeah. He melted into a sort of puddle, his collar fell off -"

"Collar!?"

"A collar he'd put on himself to restrain himself, hoping it would help to prevent him hurting people. It fell off, and then when he was just a puddle, he sort of turned white, and... _y luego desapareció_. He disappeared. And the entire island was glowing, and suddenly there were plants everywhere? I don't really know what that was, but I think it was his Nanites, somehow. And then we left."

"So you're claiming my teacher, my - he just turned into _plants_? I don't buy it, kid."

"Didn't expect you to. Even I can't believe it sometimes."

"I'm going to see what happened for myself. If you tell anyone - _anyone_ \- you'll pay for it. Understand?"

He nods, awkwardly, as though he had forgotten that he was suspended by his neck. I let him go, and he tumbles to the floor; by the time he picks himself up, both I and the paper are gone, only a gash in the wall to evidence the incident.

* * *

My jet is still there, ready as ever, and it takes me all of five seconds to remove the tracker that Providence insists on adding every time. I think it's more a game on White's part than anything else, since he knows I can get rid of them in less time than is at all worth it. Speak of the devil; a screen flickers to life.

"Six."

"Knight."

"Off to see your old crew, I see."

"Yes." I don't question how he knows; he's always had a way with finding out things that I try to hide. It's long since ceased to worry me.

"Rex's story is accurate as far as we could determine."

"I'm sure. But One was always good at sleight of hand. He could still be alive, easily."

"You yourself claimed that you saw him dissipate. Do you doubt your own word?"

"Yes." He looks briefly surprised, but quickly returns to his poker face. "I don't know what motivation I had to lie, but I have confidence that I did. One wouldn't have died."

"I know I can't stop you, Six, so I'm not going to try. But you won't find anything. And even if you do, it would only be an EVO, not-" he gets no further, largely because of the sword smashing its way through the centre of the screen. I retrieve it, then board my jet, programming it with the relevant coordinates and disabling the screen linking me to White.

* * *

Even as the island comes into view over the horizon, I can tell something has drastically changed. As it becomes more defined, I realize that, as they said, it's covered with verdant plant life. ( _A worrying sign._ ) It only gets worse as I approach; the island seems alive, and even from a distance it gives off a feeling, indistinct and faint but unmistakable, that the entire island is one living, breathing organism. ( _Very troubling._ ) And as I touch down, the nearest plants begin to wave towards me; some of the smaller vines even begin to slowly move towards me. ( _Could they be telling the truth?_ )

If One is still alive, he will be in the volcano. That's where he lived and where we trained, the most dangerous place on the island and therefore the one where failure is least tolerable. So I begin to forge my way through the island, my progress considerably slowed by the fact that I'm not cutting down any of these plants, just in case they really are One incarnate. ( _Seeming ever more likely._ )

At the entrance to the cave, I hesitate. If the other four are still around, they'll inevitably be waiting for me just inside. Nothing I can do to prevent it; I was hardly hiding my arrival, coming here in the noisy jump-jet, and it's not like there's any other way into the volcano. And they know I'll go there, of course they do, because where else would I go? It was - _is_ \- One's favourite place on the island, he was - _IS_ \- rarely seen anywhere else.

Still, no sense blinding myself. The second I enter the cave, they'll go for me - I can't risk obscuring my vision beyond what I can help, especially given that I'm out of practice. Pulling off my shades, I charge into the cave, swords raised.

Silence. Stillness. Nobody seems to be around. Why would they have left? Even if One is gone, this island is the head of operations. They wouldn't just abandon it like -

My neck nearly snaps on the spot as something very hard smashes me in the back of the head, and I drop to my knees. I scan the darkness around me, and there she is: the pink-haired youth known as Five. The one who hurled the guitar that hit me in the head.

"Hey Six, it's bin a while! Yer as bloody slow as ever."

"Wasn't expecting you to be behind me, I'll give you that. Especially since last I recall, 'behind me' was a completely open area of rock. This new terrain takes some getting used to."

"And you've bin off with your pretty doctor, swannin' around Providence. While I've been here, training. Keepin' on with what One _wanted_ for us."

"So is it true? He's gone?"

"Slow in the head too! You were there, for god's sake."

"There was a... slight mishap with a defective machine. I lost a couple of years, I'll admit."

"Did your kid smack you in the 'ead or somethin'? Explains your reaction time, I'll say that much."

"The only one who smacked me in the head is you, Five. Speaking of which..."

In a heartbeat, I'm in front of her, stood tall, swords pointed directly at her throat. She just laughs, that same confident laugh that she always uses.

"Do you really think it's that easy to get one over on me, Six? 'Cause it ain't."

"Seems like you're the one at swordpoint, and I'm not. Looks to me like I have the advantage."

" _Ella no lucha solo_ , Six. As you should well remember."

Dos's voice, and from behind me. Of course. Whipping around, I deflect his cane, moments before it would otherwise cut into my side; he doesn't even flinch, and Five is out of reach. I always hated fighting two-on-one, but it's not like I get any say in the matter. Since she's the lesser threat, I opt to focus most of my attention on Dos; he looks older than ever, I notice. A silly thing to notice when more than six years have gone by without my knowing, but I notice nevertheless.

As ever, we manage to match fairly evenly for a couple of minutes, occasionally fending off an attack from Five when she decides to act. I know these duels almost by heart, and it's obvious as ever how it will end: my defeat, probably knocked out by his stupid gas-sword or possibly by her guitar. And I'll never get closer to One's chamber that way.

Wait. These swords. What were they called - magna-blades? They have magnetic powers, and strong ones at that. Not exactly what I'm used to, but that means it won't be what they're used to either - assuming it works, anyway. Putting all my strength into deflecting his sword again, he stumbles slightly, giving me the time I need: jamming the blades together, they lock into place, and begin to vibrate in my hands. Dos looks shocked as the sword pulls away from him, wrenching itself from his grip and, with a sweeping gesture from my blades, goes hurling off into the darkness, smashing into a wall somewhere.

Even with his sword removed, he is still a significant threat. He leaps at me, fist raised, only to slam into my joined blades' flat side, a clear _crack_ echoing around the cavern. He winces, and pulls his hand away.

" _Creo que debemos parar._ Your swords are harder than I expected."

"I'm not arguing. You're the ones who challenged me."

"Well we had to, did'n' we? It's tradition, luv."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I just go?" I replace my glasses, blinking as my eyes adjust to the darkness.

" _Si._ Feel free. But if my cane is damaged, you will be paying for a new one."

"I'm sure I could manage that."

Any other remarks they may have had are lost as I forge deeper into the cave, passing a noticably damaged area but ignoring it. In the very centre, the heart of the volcano, lies... well, who knows. I had hoped it would be One, but that hope is lost; I can only hope now that he has left me some sort of message, even though I know that he probably gave me any message he had to give in my missing time.

* * *

In the very core of the volcano, I find the broken remains of four bridges, and not much else. I suppose I had expected this on some level, but it's still not easy to accept; I spend what must be an hour searching every last inch of that cave for anything, _anything_ that could be a message. When I finally give up, and turn to leave, Dos is standing in the entrance.

"You should always state your business, Six. After all, we may just have something that you want." In his non-broken hand, he holds a piece of paper, which I grab from him. On it is that writing that is so familiar to me, the exact type I had been looking for. One's words.

"Sometimes we find things on this island, and we do not know where they come from. It is One, watching over us even now." He turns away.

"Thank you, Dos."

He stops briefly upon hearing it, but then continues, giving no other acknowledgement of my words. I look at the paper in my hands.

 _Six._

 _I know you are reading this having lost six years of your life. You have missed a great deal in this time, the foremost of which is something that I have been waiting many years to say._

 _When your machine-child came to this island, he attempted to heal me. He failed; even I had failed, so this came as no surprise to me. For five years I had held off the full transformation, but was unable to stop it completely; it was only a matter of time before it would overtake me entirely. In my final moments of control, you brought him to my island, my volcano. In it, I had suspended a small room, hanging in the very centre; I was chained inside, and it was to drop when I lost my last semblance of humanity._

 _I was too strong, and the chains broke. I watched, helpless, as you fought all four of my other students, with the aid of the child. You emerged victorious, and your child attempted again to heal me; I was able, very briefly, to speak through him, to give you the message that I had waited so long to give. Afterwards, though, I felt my form lose stability, and I was dispersed across this island. Do not worry about me; this existence is far preferable to the one I was otherwise sentenced to, and I am content._

 _My final words to you were, and shall now be once more, the following._

 _Six._

 _You left this place, quit life as a mercenary, and so rarely returned to visit._

 _So rarely, that I never had time to tell you how proud you've made me._

 _Goodbye, Six. Continue to make me proud._

 _One_

Clutching the paper tightly, I smile for the first time in what seems like forever. Returning to my jet, I turn to take one last look at the island. Glancing again at the last sentence, I whisper three words.

"I will, One."


End file.
